Chapter 26

• ALICIA POV
• "Look, Alicia," Harden said, his voice flat, his eyes like chips of ice. He pulled himself up to his full height, towering over me. "Nothing 'happened' between us. We had a secret sexual fling, and then we stopped. That was it. The end of the story." He took a breath, his chest expanding under his shirt. "It happened. I moved on. Just like you did."
• A hot knife. That's what it felt like. Straight to the chest. My breath hitched, a sharp gasp escaping my lips before I could stop it. I couldn't even blame him, not really. How could I? I was the one who told him I was in love with someone else. And I was right to do it. He was off-limits, remember, Alicia? You swore up and down you'd never get involved with someone like him again. Not after everything. Not after what that other asshole did to me. One stupid bullet and my whole life shattered. I went from being… normal, I guess, to being this hollowed-out, depressed mess. Story of my life, right? I just needed time. Time to figure out what was left of me, what I was going to do next.